Abit usually doesn’t have the most spectacular product packages, and are considered to be rather lackluster by many. For the most part, they have consisted of the bare essentials, along with an additional rear expansion bracket for USB 2.0 support. The best packages offered up by Abit are most often withheld for the high-end boards, or any special edition motherboards that they manufacture. The mid-range and low-end motherboards come with less additional items, although those that are included will suit the users needs fine. The product package that comes along with the KV7 is much like that of the IS7-G we reviewed not so long ago, an improvement upon what we have seen in the past from Abit but nothing in comparison to some of the competition’s offerings. Now, much like we have already seen, the manual that comes along with the KV7 is in typical Abit fashion, detailed, descriptive, and helpful. You get a nice overlay of the PCB, diagrams of all the onboard headers and connectors, detailed description of the various BIOS options and settings, and of course a good overview of the driver installation process.

The manual is not, however, the main area where the product packages have been improved by Abit. As we noticed with the IS7-G, Abit has chosen to include a large sticker detailing the PCB layout, and several of the core headers and jumpers that can be affixed to a case wall, floor, or wherever your heart may desire. This is something I would like to see all manufacturers do, as I have already mentioned in previous reviews. If you’re like me and tend to lose manuals in a mass of paperwork, then simply having to look at a sticker you’ve placed within your case is much easier than digging through a manual trying to find the exact page you need to find where a certain jumper is, or where you need to connect an LED. Another addition to the KV7 package is that or a rather brief, yet useful quick installation guide. This guide only aids the user manual in the detail and information necessary for a first time user to fully set up the system without hassle.

What else is included within the KV7’s product package? Well, exactly what we are used to seeing. The package includes such items as two gray Serial ATA cables, one dual-plug power connector for use with Serial ATA drives, a single ATA133/100/66 IDE cable, a single floppy cable, a rear I/O bracket to accommodate the various I/O panel connections, and lastly we have the usual rear expansion bracket for extra USB 2.0 support. I’d prefer to see Abit include a second ATA/133/100/66 IDE cable, along with an additional dual-plug SATA power cable.

..:: Abit KV7 Software Suite ::..

The Driver / Software CD houses, you guessed it, the drivers and software for the AMD based motherboard variants. When you first insert the disc into your CD-ROM, the main window will pop up right to the driver install window. Here, you simply click which drivers to install and you’re good to go. Within the main window, you’ll also be able to install any of the software you wish to. The included software suite is fairly nice with the inclusion of a hardware monitoring program, Adobe Acrobat, and Norton Anti-Virus. With the virus situation constantly growing, a good anti-virus program is virtually a must have for anyone who utilizes the internet, especially when those with little computer experience will be using the system and might happen to try to open an infected E-Mail. This is a fact that was hammered home in the last weeks with the MSBlast and Sobig.F worms making their way around the globe. Abit’s inclusion of a hardware monitoring program is also nice for both advanced and novice users alike whom like to keep close track of the system temperatures to make sure things aren’t getting too hot.